Endoscopic Repair of Spontaneous Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea with a Nasoseptal Flap

ABSTRACT

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea is classified into traumatic and non-traumatic types. Traumatic CSF rhinorrhea comprises the majority of cases, and major causes include head trauma, rhinologic procedures, and neurosurgery. Non-traumatic (spontaneous) CSF rhinorrhea with normal cerebrospinal pressure is a rare condition, occurring in only 4% of cases. We recently experienced a case of spontaneous CSF rhinorrhea complicated with bacterial meningitis. The defect site was identified in the left sphenoid sinus and was successfully repaired with a nasoseptal flap under an endoscopic approach. We present the etiology, classification, and treatment of this rare disease entity with a review of the literature.